Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, right, asks Milagros Vega of Hartford, left, to vote as State Rep. Kelvin Roldan, D-Hart., looks on, during a tour of the ... more

Photo: Jessica Hill, AP

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Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, third from left, talks to residents and business owners during a tour of the Parkville section of Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. Malloy faces Republican Tom Foley in the Nov. 2 election. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) less

Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, third from left, talks to residents and business owners during a tour of the Parkville section of Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, ... more

Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, left, talks with Frank Alvarado of the Spanish American Merchants Association, during a tour of the Parkville section of ... more

Photo: Jessica Hill, AP

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Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley, left, gives an autograph to 4th grade student Maddie McGee during a visit to a Frenchtown Elementary School for Democracy Day in Trumbull, Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) less

Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley, left, gives an autograph to 4th grade student Maddie McGee during a visit to a Frenchtown Elementary School for Democracy Day in Trumbull, Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 26, ... more

Photo: Jessica Hill, AP

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Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley and his wife Leslie pet a Great Dane belonging to Andrew Goldsteind during a tour of businesses in Waterbury, Conn., Monday, Oct. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley and his wife Leslie pet a Great Dane belonging to Andrew Goldsteind during a tour of businesses in Waterbury, Conn., Monday, Oct. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Foley leads, but Malloy confident Bridgeport will vault him to victory

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GREENWICH -- Both candidates in Connecticut's governor's race declared an uncertain victory early Wednesday morning, the culmination of an extraordinary evening that saw Republican Tom Foley lead the entire night while Democrat Dan Malloy's fate rested on thousands of uncounted ballots from Bridgeport's muddled voting precincts.

"Why is it always Bridgeport," Foley said, half-joking, to his bleary-eyed supporters at the Greenwich Hyatt Regency. "We are quite confident that we will win."

With 78 percent of the vote in, Foley had a lead of 51-48 percent, according to The Associated Press. But many votes from Bridgeport had yet to be counted because of a shortage of ballots that kept some polling places open until 10 p.m.

At one point, Fox News called the race for Foley and then for Malloy. No other news organization has of yet projected an outcome.

Both men emerged after 1 a.m. to declare a victory of sorts to their bleary supporters.

I want to say it's quite a landslide isn't' it," Malloy joked to his supporters at The Society Room in downtown Hartford, a rueful reference to the fact that he still was behind in the vote tallies. "It appears we may enjoy a victory tonight. This probably has a little ways to go but based on a look at the numbers we have a victory."

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When Malloy and his supporters learned he had carried New Haven by a 5-1 margin earlier in the evening, his supporters were heartened. It appeared that support from the state's urban area would counter Foley's suburban strength. Bridgeport, the state's largest city, typically is a Democratic Party stronghold.

At Malloy's party earlier in the evening, senior adviser Roy said the Malloy team has the best ground operation, which means get out the vote effort, that Democrats have had in years.

"We have the best operation Connecticut has seen in a long time. Our guys did a great job getting to the polls. What they do when they get there we can't control."

"This was a done deal a long time ago, but the unaffiliated didn't have a chance to check in," Foley said. "The issues, the trends, were all running against career politicians like Dan Malloy. All the issues were against him."

Foley was sitting on a sofa next to his wife, Leslie and son Thomas Foley Jr., a Harvard sophomore, watching CNN.

The scene in the ballroom of the Greenwich hotel at times had almost surreal moments. Even as vote totals throughout the night showed the Republican in front, projections of heavy Democratic tallies in Bridgeport were worrisome for Foley's backers. Shortly after 11:30, Justin Clark, Foley's campaign manager, addressed the crowd, which had been hushed by regular updates from Fox News giving the race to Malloy.

"We feel really good about where we are right now," Clark said, claiming a 50,000-vote lead over Malloy.

That margin had shrunk to 27,000 votes by 1:30 a.m. State Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo of Trumbull said she believes Malloy will make up that margin.

Regardless of the outcome of the governor's race, Election 2010 reinforced the state's reputation as one of the most Democratic states in the country. At a time of gruesome losses for Democrats across the country, including the loss of the U.S. House of Representatives to the GOP, all of Connecticut's statewide and congressional races kept the Nutmeg State in the "blue" category.

At 1:40 a.m., some poll workers in Bridgeport were hand-counting ballots at the precincts, while some workers had packaged up their ballots and -- escorted by police -- shipped the packages to City Hall for counting.

Malloy, who participated in the voluntary public financing program that was developed after the corruption scandals of the Rowland administration sent him to prison in 2005, ended up with an $8.7 million war chest, including $250,000 he raised in individual contributions of $100 or less.

Foley, a private investor who complained that public financing was a misuse of taxpayer money, has spent at least $12.5 million, including more than $10.8 million of his own money, according to filings in the State Elections Enforcement Commission that will be updated in the weeks after the election.

Malloy's offensive strategy against Foley was to pigeonhole him as a bottom-line driven corporate mogul who took over companies such a Georgia-based textile mill, cut employees, closed divisions and maximize profits.

His TV commercials against Foley featured ex employees of the Bibb Company, which Foley bought in 1985 and sold 11 years later when it entered a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Malloy, who emphasized his 14 years of experience as Stamford's mayor as his chief selling point, also used Foley's strong ties with national Republicans and subsequent appointments by President George W. Bush to the Iraqi Provisional Authority and later, ambassador to Ireland.

Indeed, during debates in which he flashed an aggressive streak, Malloy sometimes delved into calling Foley "ambassador."

It was after a televised debate in New London last month, in which Malloy attacked Foley throughout, that Malloy's popularity began to ebb in the respected Quinnipiac University Poll. By Monday, for the first time, Foley took a small, albeit statistically insignificant 3-point lead.

Foley charged that Malloy presided over the loss of 13,000 jobs in Stamford by the end of his tenure. Foley also tried to tie the city's 25 percent office vacancy rate and higher property taxes with Malloy's policies.

Foley said that as a businessman, he knows what it takes to bring jobs back to a state where unemployment in over 9 percent and where there has been no job growth in over 20 years.

He promised to streamline licensing and permitting processes and make the tax system easy and dependable.

Whoever wins the election will be inaugurated Jan. 5, taking over a state that is facing historic budget deficits in the fiscal year that starts next July.